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Occupational Pensions

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and especially his commitment to reviewing the financial assistance scheme. In my constituency, nearly 1,000 members of the Richards pension fund managed to be admitted to the scheme, but that has not removed the deep uncertainty, which has been with them for a long time—since the first rumours circulated about the state of the pension fund through to its closure, and then the fears about whether they would get into the scheme. It will be several years before my constituents will be without uncertainty. I hope that my right hon. Friend views that as a matter of urgency and will thus bring not only clarity but certainty to the thousands of pensioners who are affected.